It’s been a couple of weeks now since we gave up our newspaper subscription, and except for some severe comic strip withdrawal pains, it has gone well. We are able to stay on top of the news that counts and we get the news when we want it, not when the delivery person gets around to it.
I’m devoted user of “pull” technology…I go and get the news I want. “Push” technology is the Times e-mail of headlines being delivered to my in-box. Advertisers are not fans of “pull” and so they have to try all the harder to get our attention.
But someone has to pay for the news. Without subscribers, newspapers have to come up with new ideas for possible revenue sources.
And that reminds me of a great way to revitalize the newspaper business. Digital Newspapers! I first read about this in Being Digital, by Nicholas Negroponte. (The book is now labeled “vintage” by Amazon, though it’s only 11 years old.)
Here is how it works; you own an electronic form of “paper” that looks like your favorite newspaper. You can pick it up and fold it to sit neatly next to your cereal and coffee. The paper is slightly heavier than normal, but otherwise it seems just like paper. This paper is also connected to your internet connection through wi-fi technology. Update? Press a spot on the “paper” and it connects to the newsroom and fills the pages with the latest news, just as it would look in a printed edition. It’s not science fiction; it was possible 11 years ago and is even more so today. And that’s a subscription I would keep! The downside? No newspapers for the bottom of the canaries cage.
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